The State of Teacher Education in South Africa

This chapter presents a historical perspective on teacher education within South Africa as a backdrop to the current policy informing the development of newly qualified teachers. The transformation of teacher education from a fragmented and racially segregated system to a more inclusive teacher education framework is presented to illuminate key insights and a critique of teacher education in South Africa. The current teacher education framework is also reviewed to show that the curriculum for teacher education has not changed substantially over the last five decades. The chapter argues that teacher education, through its policy framework, is, at best, tentative and may not meet the needs of a transforming developing country.